DEATH PROUF CRAWLER

A FORTIFIED CUSTOM CRAWLER BUILT FOR THE TOUGHEST ONE-DAY OFF-ROAD RACE IN THE COUNTRY

- LINDSEY FISHER

Building a race vehicle can mean many different things to different people from circle-track cars to drag racers. But when it comes to building an off-road race car, it takes a different drive and understanding of performance and durability to create something not only fortified for the abuse the vehicle will certainly have to withstand, but also something competitive in one's class.

For this, many people turn to professional chassis builders, but some take on the daunting project themselves, proving that even a garage builder can create a worthy off-road race vehicle. Patrick Jones' Death Proof Crawler is one such race rig.

Patrick Jones of Menifee, California, is no new-comer to the off-road world. Having dabbled in everything from drift cars to pre-runners since getting his license, Patrick discovered his love for rock crawling many years ago. While he's built a few off-road rigs in his days, he decided to take it a step further in late 2023 and build a rig to compete in what has been dubbed the toughest one-day off-road race in the country-King of the Hammers.

Built for Abuse

TPatrick is what some may call an aggressive driver, as he fully admits he'll use every bit of his rigs' cages as sliders to get through rough spots on any given rock trail. That being said, he needed to make sure his race rig was up for the challenge, especially if he was going to race in the Legends Class at King of the Hammers for the first time in 2024. This, as well as the need for more power, and a vehicle that would pass tech and safety inspections is what prompted Patrick to start from scratch and build this one-of-a-kind race rig instead of trying to modify his existing crawler.